1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an ice maker for a refrigerator capable of making ice by using cold air within the refrigerator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a perspective view of the constitution of a conventional ice maker. As shown in the figure, a frame 2 is provided at one end of the ice maker 1. An ice-making container 4 is provided between the frame 2 and a drive unit 15 to be explained later. The ice-making container 4 is formed to extend lengthily in one direction. The ice-making container 4 is made of a metal having good thermal conductivity such as aluminum. Mounting brackets 5, 5xe2x80x2 are formed integrally with one side of the ice-making container 4 so that the ice maker 1 can be mounted onto a wall of a freezing chamber of the refrigerator. The ice-making container 4 has a cross section in the form of a half moon and is supplied with water through a water supply portion 7 provided at one side of the ice-making container 4.
The ice-making container 4 is provided with an ice-releasing lever 9 for releasing ice, which has been completely made therein, from the ice-making container. The ice-releasing lever 9 has one end connected with the drive unit 15 to be rotated by a driving force transmitted from the drive unit 15 and the other end supported by the frame 2. The ice-releasing lever 9 is formed with a plurality of ice-releasing arms 10 spaced apart at a predetermined interval from one another.
The frame 2 is provided with a front face plate 11 extending along the other side of the ice-making container 4 up to the drive unit 15. The front face plate 11 is formed with a plurality of strippers 12 at a predetermined interval to extend to above the ice-making container 4. The strippers 12 serve to prevent the ice released from the ice-making container 4 from being transferred back to the ice-making container 4.
The drive unit 15 for performing drive of the ice maker 1 is provided at the other end of the ice maker 1. A case 16 defines an outer appearance of the drive unit 15. A support plate 17 shown in FIG. 7 is installed within the case 16. The support plate 17 is provided with components for driving the ice maker 1.
First, a drive motor 18 for providing the driving force for use in driving the ice-releasing lever 9 and the like is installed in the support plate 17. The support plate 17 is provided with a rotary member 19 that can be rotated by receiving the driving force from the drive motor 18 through a plurality of gears (disposed at a rear face of the support plate 17). The rotary member 19 is connected to the one end of the ice-releasing lever 9 and drives the ice-releasing lever 9. A cam 20 is formed on a predetermined section of an outer periphery of the rotary member 19. The cam 20 is constructed such that an upstream portion 20u thereof protrudes from the outer periphery of the rotary member 19 and a downstream portion 20d thereof also protrudes from the outer periphery of the rotary member 19.
A drive lever 22 is installed in the support plate 17 so as to be driven in a state where it is interlocked with the rotary member 19. The drive lever 22 can rotate over a predetermined angle about a support shaft 24 and is provided at one side thereof with a cam follower 23 interlocked with the cam 20. Reference numeral 23a designates a trailing end of the cam follower.
Meanwhile, the support shaft 24 is provided with an ice-sensing lever 26 with one end thereof coaxial with the support shaft 24. The ice-sensing lever 26 is bent several times, and disposed in front of the front face plate 11 as shown in FIG. 6. The other end of the ice-sensing lever is supported by the frame 2.
The conventional ice maker having the aforementioned constitution has the following problems:
First, the ice maker 1 is used in a state of installation within the freezing chamber of the refrigerator, and ice is made in the ice-making container 4. However, since the front face plate 11 extending lengthily along the other side of the ice-making container 4 prevents cold air from being supplied to the ice-making container 4, there is a problem in that the ice is not rapidly formed.
In addition, in the conventional ice maker, the cam 20 of the rotary member 19 is interlocked with the cam follower 23 of the drive lever 22 in order to drive the ice-sensing lever 26. However, the moment the trailing end 23a of the cam follower 23 passes by the downstream portion 20d of the cam 20, the cam follower 23 suddenly comes into contact with the outer periphery of the rotary member 19. Due to this, since the ice-sensing lever 26 drops by the height of the downstream portion 20d, the ice-sensing lever 26 is bumped against the front of the ice maker, thereby generating a crash sound. This crash sound is generated when the ice-sensing lever 26 is moved up to the relatively highest position and then instantaneously drops.
Next, grounding should be made for the safety of electrical components provided for the drive unit 15. In the conventional ice maker, the ice-making container 4 made of metal has been grounded. However, since the ice-making container 4 has a coating on the surface thereof, the coating should be removed from a portion of the surface and a ground terminal should be then fixed to the portion from which the coating has been removed by fastening a separate screw into a hole formed in the portion, for the purpose of the grounding.
Therefore, the present invention is contemplated to solve the above problems in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to increase the volume of cold air supplied to an ice-making container in which ice is made.
Another object of the present invention is to minimize an operating noise of an ice maker.
A further object of the present invention is to more easily perform grounding of an ice maker.
According to one aspect of the present invention for accomplishing the objects, there is provided an ice maker for a refrigerator, comprising: a frame; an ice-making container with one side thereof supported by the frame in which ice is formed by cold air within a freezing chamber of the refrigerator; an ice-releasing lever for separating the formed ice from the ice-making container and then transferring it to a storage container; a drive unit for providing power for driving of the ice-releasing lever and supporting the other side of the ice-making container; a front face plate extending lengthily in the longitudinal direction of the ice-making container so as to connect between the frame and the drive unit; and cold air passing-holes formed at a predetermined interval in the front face plate for transferring the cold air from the exterior of the front face plate into the interior of the ice-making container.
The cold air passing-holes may be provided with louvers that are open in a direction opposite to a flow direction of the cold air flowing along the front face plate, respectively.
The ice maker may further comprise an ice-sensing lever driven by the drive unit for sensing the amount of ice contained within the storage container.
The drive unit preferably comprises a case for defining an outer appearance of the drive unit, a support plate installed within the case, a drive motor installed in the support plate, a rotary member capable of being rotated by receiving the driving force from the drive motor and driving the ice-releasing lever, and a drive member for driving the ice-sensing lever while being rotated by receiving the driving force from the drive motor through a cam of the rotary member.
The cam of the rotary member may be constructed such that a downstream portion thereof is declined toward an outer periphery of the rotary member to be continuously and smoothly connected with the outer periphery of the rotary member can.
One end of the ice-making container may be fastened to the case by a screw that is fastened within the case of the drive unit, and a ground terminal for grounding electrical components of the drive unit is connected to the screw.
The case is preferably formed with a fastening hole through which the screw penetrates, and a rib having an inner diameter adapted to receive the screw and the ground terminal protrudes from an edge of the fastening hole.